Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Vehicle Driver Licence

A licence is required before any person can drive a hackney carriage (taxi) or private hire vehicle. Rhondda Cynon Taf Licensing Authority does not issue separate licenses for hackney carriage/private hire drivers, we only issue a joint licence.

Before a licence is granted the applicant must satisfy the Licensing Authority that they:

have held a full driver's licence (not a provisional licence) granted to the applicant under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1972 authorising him/her to drive a motor car for at least twelve months prior to the date of the application

must have a police criminality check carried out by the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS), previously CRB, to ensure safety to the public.

Please note as at 1st September 2017 Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council will be requiring all new applicants applying for a Joint Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licence to sit a knowledge test, for further information please contact us on 01443 425001 or email us at Licensing.Section@rctcbc.gov.uk (see details below)

If you were born outside the UK and came to the UK as adult, you must provide a Criminial Record from all Countries resided outside of the UK. If you cannot produce this, a certificate of good conduct from the relevant Embassy must be provided to ensure that you have not committed any offence in that country. This certificate must be an original copy and accompanied by an original certified translation from a sworn translator as applicable.

If you came to the UK as a child (under the age of 17), you must provide proof of this to remove the requirement for a DBS check as above.

Before you apply you may wish to consider the Authority's Policy of Guidance on relevance of convictions - please see below for further information.

Once the application form has been completed, you need to make an appointment to visit our offices, (all appointments must be booked in advance, without an appointment you may be turned away) bringing with you the following documentation:

Upon production of the above at the licensing office, you will be asked to complete a Disclosure & Barring Service check and DVLA for any records held against you. Please be aware that we normally allow approximately up to 4 weeks from receipt of your application for return of these checks as this is the average time that they take.

Before you are issued a licence you must also provide us with:

a current medical certificate

The medical form needn't be completed at this stage. You may wait until the necessary checks have been returned to us. It is worth noting that, should you decide to withdraw your application or be refused a licence for whatever reason, the fee paid by you to your GP is non-refundable. Therefore, it is entirely up to you to decide at which point during the application process that you have the medical.

Licensing Committee

It is possible that your application could be referred to the Council's Licensing Committee for determination further advice in respect of the above can be obtained from Licensing Officers.